


I Met a Friend of Yours Today

by LadyMyfanwy



Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29039736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMyfanwy/pseuds/LadyMyfanwy
Summary: This is a Ianto Jones centric story, prompted by the song 'I Met a Friend of Yours Today' sung by the legendary George Strait.
Relationships: Lisa Hallett/Ianto Jones
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	I Met a Friend of Yours Today

I Met a Friend of Yours Today

He paused outside the front door, his hand almost but not quite touching the knob, his fingers curled to grip it and he had every intention of turning it but there was something in his heart making him want to simply turn around and walk away. His hand started to pull back but then he stopped. 

‘Ianto Gethin Jones, you are made of stronger stuff than this! Get your head out of your arse and open the bloody door!’ 

Sometimes, his inner voice could be a real bastard… even if it did sound a lot like his mam… she’d always used his full name when he was in trouble.

Straightening his shoulders, Ianto opened the door and stepped inside. He toed off his shoes and set them neatly by the antique Victorian coat rack that had been handed down through one-hundred-and-sixty-five years of the Jones family, then quietly set his keys in the bowl on the hall table and walked into the lounge. 

“There you are, Ianto!” Lisa set her magazine down on the sofa cushion and looked up at him. “I was getting worried… you should have called.” Her smile though bright did not quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah, sorry about that… I got delayed… but you’re right, I should have called you. I apologise.” Ianto sat down in his customary chair by the fireplace and leaned back, watching the flames dance in the fireplace, his mind racing along a mile a minute. 

“Well, just so you know, next time use that fancy mobile of yours! That is why I gave it to you, silly.” Lisa stood up and brushed her hands over her skirt. “Dinner’s been ready for a while now, so go wash your hands and I’ll serve up.”

“Can it wait just a few minutes longer, please?” Ianto asked quietly. “I’m really not that hungry right now.”

Lisa frowned. “Well, all right, then how about I fix you a drink? Wine? Whiskey? Cocktail?” She moved over to the sideboard and looked back at her husband.

“Anything’s fine,” he shook his head. “You choose tonight.”

It only took a moment for Lisa to pour whiskey into a glass and as she handed it to him she asked, “Ianto, is everything all right? You look… odd.” She went back to the sideboard and pulled the cork from a bottle of wine.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Ianto sipped his whiskey. 

“So, how was your day?” Lisa returned to her seat. “Do anything interesting?”

“I had a job on the other side of town this afternoon.” Ianto nodded. “Remember I told you a few weeks ago I picked up a new client? This was one of his. I was right when I thought this was going to be very lucrative contract. Not to be vulgar but judging from the art work in his office alone – including a couple of original Old Masters, Jack Harkness is absolutely loaded.”

“Wow. Which ones, do you know?” 

“What?”

Lisa grimaced slightly. “Which paintings, silly.”

“Uh, yeah…” Ianto thought for second. “I know there was a small Manet and I recognised a Gauguin and there was a wonderful Rembrandt, plus a few pieces of porcelain and sculpture. It was really nice, like a miniature museum.” He looked into the golden amber of his whiskey and sighed. 

Lisa cocked her head and looked at him then frowned again. “You seem out of sorts, Yan.” She took a drink of her wine, wondering what was wrong with her husband. “Did everything go all right? Did something go wrong?”

“No, everything was great.” He swirled the liquid in his glass, watching the way the light made it sparkle. “I’m really going to enjoy working on this project… he’s given me carte blanche on the renovations for all his boutique hotels in the UK, Europe and Canada… well, subject to his final approval, of course, but I get the feeling that’s just a formality.”

“Yan, that’s brilliant! I am so proud of you!” Lisa raised her glass in salute. “To Ianto Jones, Interior Designer to the rich and powerful!”

“Thank you.” Ianto blushed just a bit. “Anyway, I thought it went so well that I decided to stop off and have a quick round to celebrate.” 

“You should have called me!” Lisa scolded him. “I don’t like the idea of you having to celebrate all alone. I would have come and joined you. We could have had dinner out after.”

“True, I probably should have, I’m sorry, I will next time, I promise,” Ianto acknowledged. “But I wasn’t alone, not really.”

“I don’t understand…” Lisa cocked her head. “Did you meet up with friends from work?”

“No, actually, I met a friend of yours today.” 

Lisa brightened up. “Really! Who was it? Marcie? Gwyneth? Bethany…?” She paused with a frown. “No, wouldn’t be Beth, she’s still Canada with her sister.”

“Nope, wasn’t any of them.” Ianto sipped his whiskey, savouring the deliciously sweet, rich and fruity flavour of a 12-year-old Balvenie single malt from Speyside that had been aged in Kentucky Virgin Oak barrels from America – he’d done his research. “Guess again.”

“I don’t want to guess again, Ianto, just tell me!” Lisa demanded. “Who was it?” 

“As it happens,” Ianto stretched his legs out toward the fire, feeling the warmth of the flames on the soles of his stockinged feet. “I was sitting at the bar, making some notes about the job, watching a rerun of Sunday’s rugby, looking at the news on my mobile, answering a few texts, you know, like you do… just relaxing.”

When he didn’t speak for several seconds, Lisa rolled her eyes. “And? Did somebody join you? Who was it?”

Ianto ignored her questions. “It was still early and so it wasn’t very busy, there were a few other people scattered around, there was what I’m sure was a hooker down at the other end of the bar, and a couple of guys were sitting at a table sort of behind me but not too far from me at all. I didn’t mean to listen, honestly I didn’t, but I could hear every word they were saying. Sounded like they were old friends just catching up, you know? But then one started doing most of the talking…”

This time several minutes passed in silence as Ianto rolled the glass back and forth between the palms of his hands. 

Finally Lisa couldn’t take the suspense any longer. “Oh for heaven’s sake, Ianto! Say something! Is this story going somewhere?”

Ianto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The one guy was telling his friend all about this woman he’d been sleeping with for the past six months, about how good their sex life was – actually he used the word ‘amazing’ – and how they got on so well together, all the things they had in common, things they liked to do. He said that he had really fallen for her and that things were getting really serious and he was going to ask her to move in with him.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Who cares what some drunk in a pub is talking about. Seriously, Ianto, why on earth are you telling me about this?”

“Curiously, as I tried not to listen, cos you know, it was none of my business,” Ianto sipped his whiskey and stared into the fire, “I heard him say your name.”

“What? My name?” Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t be absurd.”

“I heard him plain as day.” Ianto shrugged. “He clearly said that Lisa was the love of his life and he was dead sure that she felt the same way.”

“I am not the only Lisa in town, Ianto.”

“No, I’m quite sure you’re not, but when his friend asked him what his Lisa did, the first guy started bragging on her, said she was a bigwig in personnel and she worked in that big new glass tower out there on Canary Wharf.” Now Ianto looked directly at her and despite the rich chocolate colour of her skin, he could see her turn pale. “Now as far as I know… and of course, I could be completely wrong, but as far as I am aware, you are the only Lisa who works in Human Resources in Torchwood Tower on Canary Wharf.”

“I… What? I mean…” Lisa’s eyes were wide as her mind spun in several different directions seeking an answer, an excuse, an explanation of some kind. “Obviously, you misunderstood him.” She decided to go on the offensive. “You must have had too much to drink.”

“I did wonder, because I thought it was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard,” Ianto nodded, “so I just sat there and listened for a bit.”

“No, I’m not putting up with this any longer. This nonsense is over and I’m going to serve dinner now.” Lisa stood up. “Are you coming?”

“Sit down, Lisa,” Ianto’s voice was sharp but he quickly softened his tone. “Please. This will only take another moment or two.”

Despite her better judgement, Lisa found herself sinking back down onto the sofa. She grabbed her glass of wine and took a big gulp. “Fi…” She cleared her throat. “Fine!”

“He told his friend…” Ianto stood up and crossed over to the sideboard, splashed some more whiskey in his glass and then sat down again, “that he’d met this Lisa – Lissy he started calling her – at a drinks night for her department back in May. Said they were out celebrating someone’s promotion, balloons, cake, champagne… you know, the sort of things that you’ve said Yvonne Hartman likes to do for her employees.”

Lisa’s mouth opened and closed several times but no sound came out.

“I thought that was quite the coincidence, since I remember you and your department going out about six months ago, which would make it in May, which was when Reginald Washburn was promoted to Head of Archives and Acquisitions. I remember it because I really like Reggie and I was very disappointed that I couldn’t go with you cos I had to be in Cardiff with my mam while she was in hospital.” He looked at Lisa over the rim of his glass. Her eyes were wide and she had the classic deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. “Remember how upset you were that you had to go alone?” Ianto smiled fondly. “You looked amazing in that emerald silk dress; it clung to you just so in all the right places and the jewel-tone colour made your skin glow. You looked truly beautiful.”

“Tha… thank you, Ianto.” Despite the odd situation, Lisa was oddly touched by his sincerity.

“You’re welcome,” Ianto sipped his whiskey. “This man said that it was really funny how they met. He was heading for the gents, walking down the hall, looking at his phone, and ran smack into her coming out of the ladies. Said they just crashed into one another, her purse fell to the floor and spilled, when they both bent over to pick things up, they banged their heads together and then all they could do was stand there and laugh.”

Lisa smiled weakly. “Sounds like a scene straight out of an old ‘Benny Hill’ episode.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” Ianto agreed. “You know what?” He stood up again. “I am hungry after all.” He walked into the kitchen and peeked into the oven, sniffing appreciatively. “Smells good as always.” Lifting the casserole out and setting it on a trivet, he selected a spoon from the drawer and scooped out a bite, blowing on it before putting it in his mouth. “Oh yummmm! You do make the best Shepard’s Pie, Lisa, even better than me mam’s, but don’t tell her that!” He laughed and dished out two portions then carried the bowls to the kitchen table and set them in their places and lastly, he went to the fridge. “What do you want to drink with dinner?” 

“I’ll stick with wine.” As she went in she took the bottle from the sideboard and put it next to her place setting.

“Okay.” He chose a bottle of water for himself and then held out her chair. “Dinner is served, m’lady.” He took his seat and smiled across the table at her.

Unsure of where Ianto’s conversation was leading, terrified by what he might know, trying hard to think of something to say, Lisa refilled her wine glass to the top – pretending her hands weren’t shaking – took a big gulp and then topped it off again.

“Mmmm…” Ianto enjoyed his dinner. It was the perfect temperature for eating and the potatoes on top had all those crusty little ridges that he liked so much. When his bowl was empty, he drained his water bottle and sat back. “That was really scrummy. Thank you. You always take such good care of me and I probably don’t say it often enough but thank you.”

Lisa tried to speak but her mouth was too dry so she took a gulp of her wine then nodded. “Th… thank you.” 

“Are you finished?” He indicated her half-eaten dinner and when she nodded, he gathered up the dirty dishes and utensils and set them in the sink. He touched the side of the casserole dish and decided that it was still too warm to be put in the fridge, but he did drape the lid over the top. 

“Coffee?” He didn’t wait for an answer but set about brewing a pot of his favourite after-dinner coffee, a gently roasted blend of Central and South American beans. He liked its start of sweet lemon but its finish of smooth milk chocolate. It was perfect way with which to end a good meal. As he took a small tray from under the counter he glanced over his shoulder. “Biscuits with your coffee tonight?”

Lisa mutely shook her head, holding on to her wine glass like it was the most important thing in the world, the only thing anchoring her to the here and now.

Ianto gathered mugs, spoons, sugar bowl and creamer… both for Lisa… he preferred his coffee pure. “Now, where were we?” He turned around and leaned against the counter, listening to the hiss and drip of the coffee maker. “Oh, yeah…” He nodded and took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and letting it out slowly. He filled their mugs and took the tray over to the table, setting Lisa’s mug in front of her and the tray to the side within easy reach.

“Where was I?” Ianto frowned as he sipped his coffee. “Oh yeah… So anyway, I sat there, listening to this guy talking about his girlfriend, saying things that I personally wouldn’t share with me very best mate, cos to me they were quite personal, but this guy…” He nibbled on a buttery shortbread biscuit. “Said they started sleeping together the very next day, how she had this sweet little snore just before she woke up, and how she was ticklish behind her right knee… not the left one, he said, which he thought was strange, cos you’d think it would be both, but not with his Lissy.” Ianto didn’t look at Lisa, concentrating instead on his biscuit.

“That is weird,” Lisa managed to choke out.

“He also said that they liked to shower together and she liked to have him scrub her back for her, found it really relaxing.” Now Ianto looked up at his wife. “I know how much that relaxes you when I do it.”

Lisa could only nod as she gulped her wine, emptying the glass and reaching for the nearly empty bottle but Ianto picked it up first, their fingers brushing together for a moment.

“The strangest thing is…” He filled her glass for her. “He said she had this cute little birthmark on the inside of her thigh, shaped kinda like a raindrop.” Ianto sat down and sipped his coffee, struggling to remain nonchalant while inside he burned with hurt and anger. “Kinda like the one you have.”

“Yan… I…” 

Ianto ignored her and continued talking. “Now I’m thinking I have to meet this guy, so I signalled for the bartender and while I waited for him, I very calmly, patiently put my mobile in my pocket, put away my pen and notepad, and when he brought my pint, I stood up and went over to that table.”

Lisa made a small sound as though she were in pain but said nothing as Ianto told his tale.

{*****} 

Ianto walked over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down uninvited, then drained half his pint and plunked his glass down rather firmly. “Hello, gentlemen, my name is Ianto Jones.” 

The man who’d been fairly quiet looked him up and down. “So?”

“I apologise, really. I swear I did not meant to eavesdrop but it just dawned on me that we have a mutual friend.” 

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?” the same guy asked.

Ianto looked at the other man, the one who had done all the talking, and just as the man took a drink of his beer, Ianto said, “My wife, Lisa Hallett-Jones.”

The man’s eyes widened as he suddenly went white as a sheet and began choking on his mouthful of beer, snorting it out his nose and he began coughing so hard that his friend started pounding him on the back.

“Isn’t it a small world.” Ianto drained his pint. “Gentlemen.” He nodded at them as he stood up and then walked out of the bar.

{*****}

“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Lisa?” 

“Yan… I…” Lisa’s eyes filled with tears, overflowing down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know…” 

Ianto looked at her sadly. “Why, Lisa? I thought you were happy… you always seem happy.”

“I am… it’s just that…” 

“Did I do something wrong,” he asked. “Is there something I didn’t do that I should have?”

“I’m sorry.” She began crying in earnest, sobs shaking her shoulders. “I am so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Ianto sighed so deeply it could have come from his soul. “There’s no use in crying, Lisa, it’s not going to make any difference.” He pushed the napkin holder closer to her in lieu of tissues. 

Lisa grabbed several and blew her nose loudly before hiccupping as she asked, “What do we do now?”

Ianto gathered the coffee things onto the tray and stood up, going over to the sink. He took the dishpan from under the sink, squirted in a dollop of washing up liquid, inhaling the soothing citrus scent and turned on the water. He calmly scraped the bowls into the trash and began doing the dishes.

Lisa sat frozen in her chair, not sure what to do, what to say, but the silence was driving her crazy. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any long and she blurted out, “What are you going to do? What do you want me to do?”

Without turning around, Ianto spoke quietly. “I’m going to finish the dishes, tidy up the house and I’m going to go to bed.” He took a towel and started drying the bowls, putting them in the cupboard. “While I’m doing that you’re going to go pack an overnight bag and leave before I finish here. I don’t care where you go as long as you get out of my house, but I suggest you try joining the new love of your life.”

“What?” Lisa was aghast. “You can’t just throw me out of my own house!”

“I think you’ll find that I can.” Ianto turned to look at her as he folded the towel. “This is my house, was long before I ever met you. It’s in my name only.” His voice grew cold. “You had better get a move on, I’m tired and you’re running out of time.” 

Enraged, Lisa threw her wine glass at him, missing Ianto’s head by a mere inch as it hit the cupboard, with the shards of glass bouncing back and hitting his shoulders and the back of his head. 

“Really, Lisa?” Ianto leaned backwards and brushed his shirt and hair, letting the bits fall into the sink. “I was so hoping we could behave like adults and avoid the temper tantrums.”

“Go to hell!” Lisa gave her chair a shove, toppling it over, the heavy wood gouging a line in the paint as it impacted the wall. 

As Ianto used a wet paper towel to clean the glass from the sink before sweeping up the pieces from the floor he heard something fragile break and he sighed deeply. He emptied the dustpan and carried it and the broom with him as he headed for the bedroom; his little voice was warning him that there was no telling what Lisa would do before she left and that he should to be there just in case.

Sure enough as he entered the hall from the living room to the bedroom, he found that she had swept a small bone china candy dish nearly two hundred years old off the bookcase that lined one wall and left it shattered in small pieces scattered on the hardwood floor. It was one of his most treasured items, having inherited it from his great-grandmother when he was a child and it was absolutely irreplaceable; his heart broke and tears burned his eyes as he slowly swept the delicate shards into the dustpan. 

When he finally got to the bedroom door he was greeted by chaos… clothes were strewn across the bed as Lisa threw things into several suitcases… two of which were his own. He could hear her in the ensuite cursing up a storm as she collected her make-up and toiletries and when she returned and saw him standing in the doorway, Lisa threw a bottle of shampoo at him as she shouted, “you are a fucking bastard, Ianto Jones!” 

Ianto easily caught the bottle and tossed it gently onto the bed. “I don’t know why you’re making this so difficult, Lisa. What did you expect was going to happen when you started your affair?”

Lisa studiously ignored him as she stuffed her belongings into the suitcases. 

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Ianto tried again. 

Lisa still refused to acknowledge him as she filled her arms with shoes and dropped them into a bag.

“When were you planning on leaving me for this guy, this…?” Ianto frowned. “You know, I never got his name… hmm…”

Without warning, Lisa slumped to the floor, leaning back against the bed as she burst into tears. “Yan…” She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face.

Seeing Lisa looking so incredibly miserable, Ianto’s resolve to remain calm and outwardly unaffected by their situation crumbled. Carefully setting the dustpan aside, Ianto went over and sat down next to his wife, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Shhh… Lisa, it’s all right. Don’t cry, honey.” He stroked her hair. “Shhh…”

“Ianto, I really am sorry.” Lisa took a deep hiccupy breath and raised her head. “I swear I never meant for any of this to happen, you have to know that.”

“No one ever really does.” Ianto hugged her closer to him. “We can’t help who we fall in love with.”

“But I still love you…” she shrugged. “It’s just…”

Ianto kissed her temple. “I will always love you,” he admitted. “I remember in University reading somewhere that humans aren’t meant for monogamy, that in order to keep the gene pool sustainable, it needs to be as diverse as possible to ensure as many viable unions as possible…” he frowned… “or something like that.”

Lisa pulled back and looked at her husband, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Really? You read that in University?” 

“Well, when I say it out loud it does sound a bit… out there.” Ianto shrugged and furrowed his brow. “Maybe that was about animals…”

“Memory starting to slip a bit, you daft old man?” Lisa poked him in the ribs and snorted a brief laugh before tears filled her eyes again. “I’ve really made a mess of it all, haven’t I.”

Ianto sighed deeply. “I have a feeling that somewhere along the line we’ve both made a mess of things.”

Lisa shrugged. “I guess…”

“When did we start to grow apart, do you think?” Ianto asked thoughtfully, not really expecting an answer. “We’ve been together for almost ten years, married for seven of them…” He stopped and cocked his head. “Isn’t there an old Marilyn Monroe film called the ‘Seven Year Itch’? About a man reaching the seventh year of his marriage and getting a roving eye… or something like that. It’s the one where her skirt blows up over the subway grate.”

“You and your old films,” Lisa giggled. “Figures you’d remember the one with a half-naked Marilyn Monroe in it.”

“Well, she did have very good legs,” Ianto laughed back. “Remember when we were in University and we used to go to the commons every Friday night, watch some truly beyond horrendous 50’s sci-fi film and snog like crazy in the back row?”

“Yeah…” Lisa sighed wistfully. “Those were good times. You were the sweetest guy I’d ever met.”

“I was so nervous the first time I asked you out I could barely speak… my mouth was as dry as the desert.”

Lisa smiled fondly and laid a hand on Ianto’s arm. “I was the envy of my philosophy study group after my girlfriends saw you, especially the two American girls. All they could talk about was your accent.”

“Don’t be silly. My accent?”

“Said it was very sexy, those Welsh vowels were so erotic.”

Ianto actually blushed. “Good grief! I don’t even remember meeting them!”

“It was during our Christmas party… the twins… blonde, buxom, dumb…?”

“Oh yeah… I said they were stereotypes and that it had to be an act.” Ianto nodded his head. 

“Oh come to find out, it was,” Lisa confided. “According to the newsletter we get emailed every month, one married some Arab sheik and then divorced him for umpteen millions and the other one is CEO of her own multi-million dollar business.”

“Damn!” Ianto was suitably impressed. “Too bad I wasn’t into blondes!”

“Oh Yan, you’re so bad.” Lisa laughed. 

They were quiet for a few minutes and then Ianto sighed deeply again. “What happened to us? How did we go from then to now?”

“I honestly don’t know, Ianto, I really don’t.” Lisa stood up and started putting the rest of her clothes into the suitcases. 

Ianto handed her a shoe that had fallen to the floor. “When is the last time we went out on a date… we used to have date night once a week. Why did we stop doing that?”

“I don’t know… I think it’s been at least two years now, maybe closer to three, but I don’t remember why or how we stopped.” Lisa zipped one bag closed and moved it aside so she could finish another. 

Ianto felt a heaviness come over him, leaving him feeling old and tired. It took a moment for him to realise that Lisa was nudging him with her leg so he stood up and went over to sit in the comfy chair in the corner, hugging the pillow in it to his chest.

“Are we just together out of habit, Lisa?” Ianto had to stop himself from rocking back and forth. 

Lisa shrugged, not turning to look at her husband. “There are times when it feels like we’re more like roommates than spouses… when you’re out of town busy with work… I do find myself going out with my friends more than I’m going out with you.”

“Really? I had no idea… I was…” Ianto frowned, distressed to hear that. “Lisa, I’m sorry… I never realised. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I don’t know, Yan, I really don’t. It never seemed like the right time.” Again Lisa shrugged, although this time she did sit down on the end of the bed, an old university T-shirt of Ianto’s that she slept in in her hand. “Your career just seemed to skyrocket and you were always so excited about new projects. You’d go into your man cave and you never seemed to notice or if I did tell you, it seemed to me that you didn’t really care. It just got easier to leave you to your thing while I went along and did mine.”

“I am sorry, Lisa… I never meant to make you feel unwanted or that my work was more important than you.” Ianto was beginning to understand that Lisa wasn’t the only one at fault for their marriage breaking down. “I really never…” 

“I know, I know.” Fresh tears filled Lisa’s eyes. “I’m sorry too, Yan. I just… I mean…” She wasn’t sure how to explain how she felt and frustrated, she stood up and finished packing, looking around the room at everything but Ianto. “I guess that’s everything…” Lisa finally found the courage to look at her husband and she was surprised to see how small and lost he looked, sitting there, hiding behind the scrunchy pillow. 

It only took a few steps to get to Ianto’s side where she dropped down to the floor next to him and rested her head on his knee, her tears soaking into his trousers. “Please forgive me, Ianto, I swear I never meant for this to happen.”

“Oh, Lisa…” Ianto reached out and gently stroked her hair. “I think that forgiveness needs to go both ways.” He made no attempt to hide the tears now sliding down his cheeks.

Silence reigned for several minutes until finally Lisa stirred. “Well, we can’t sit here all night…” She got to her feet and went over to clear the bed of the last few things and tucking them into her overnight bag. Another few minutes passed quietly as she stood there, unable to turn and look at Ianto.

Ianto gave a deep sigh… there was an internal battle raging. On the one hand, he knew he had to ask Lisa for the keys to the flat but on the other, he knew that would forever mark the end of their relationship. His head knew there was no coming back from tonight, but his heart ached as he watched his wife close the final case.

It was Lisa who broke the silence as she slung the strap of the carry-all over her shoulder and then tugged the other two cases onto the floor, handles pulled up ready for towing. “Well, best I get going… can’t stand here all night.” As she reached the bedroom doorway, Ianto finally spoke.

“Where will you go?”

Lisa stopped but didn’t look at her husband, shrugging she responded, “I’ll get a taxi to Drew’s…”

“Stay.”

“What?!” Lisa’s head whipped around.

“It’s late… stay here tonight… make your arrangements tomorrow…”

Lisa felt tears fill her eyes yet again. “It’s all right… I can…”

Ianto shook his head. “It’s okay, Lisa, I don’t want you… it’s not safe for you to be out there alone at this hour.”

“All right then, but,” Lisa was adamant, “this is your house, Ianto, you sleep in here and I’ll take the sofa.” She pulled the strap of her overnight higher on her shoulder and picked up one of the suitcases. “Help me get these to the door, yeah?” 

Ianto did as she asked then watched as she retrieved the wine bottle from the table and emptied the last bit into a new glass, finishing it in one long gulp. Sighing deeply, he turned to go. “I’ll get you a pillow and blanket.”

“Thank you.” Lisa’s shoulders drooped as realised just what a decent guy her husband really was and tears pricked her eyes as she stared at her empty glass; anyone else would have thrown her out on her sorry arse. The little voice in the back of her head wondered if Drew would still be looking out for her were the shoe on the other foot. The other little voice responded with ‘I doubt it.’

He was back in just a few minutes with the duvet from their bed and her pillow, which he set on the couch. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He left again without actually looking at her.

“Ianto?” Lisa called out softly as he was closing the bedroom door.

“Yes?” He paused.

“I’m sorry I broke your gran’s dish.”

Ianto sighed deeply. “I’m sorry too.” He closed the door firmly and leaned back against, feeling himself trembling as he surveyed the wreckage of their… “My bedroom.” The idea of sleeping in the same bed where his cheating wife had been filled him with resolve. Quickly gathering Lisa’s few remaining belongings, he dumped them into the closet and then he stripped the bed, adding the linens to the closet floor. While he was in the bathroom airing cupboard getting new sheets he snagged the still-damp towels Lisa had used and tossed them in on top of the dirty sheets. For a split second he thought about mildew forming but then he shrugged and remade the bed, plumping his pillow and putting it on his side of the bed.

“No, this is my bed now.” He firmly thrust it into the centre of the bed, turned out the lights and then threw himself on top of it, pulling the covers up over himself. Certain he would never be able to fall asleep, Ianto laced his fingers behind his head and stared up at the ceiling as his mind whirled along a mile a minute.

{*****} 

Ianto jerked awake with a snort, and he lay there wondering what had pulled him from a dreamless sleep when he heard noise coming from the living room. Grabbing his mobile from the nightstand he reached behind his back to wake Lisa only to find thin air where the morning before the soft, sleep-warmed body of his wife had lain. Reality came crashing in on him and he felt a physical pain in his chest.

Lying there with hot tears soaking into his pillow Ianto heard the quiet click of the front door opening, the soft clunk of keys landing in the nearby wooden bowl and the final snick of the door closing.

Letting out a breath he didn’t even realise he was holding, Ianto pulled the covers up over his head and let the comforting darkness wash over him.

End

{*****} 

I Met a Friend of Yours Today  
Written by Mel Street

Yes, I know I'm late gettin' home tonight  
Can supper wait, I guess I lost my appetite  
Yeah you can fix me a drink, oh anything's okay  
Oh, by the way I met a friend of yours today

I was workin' on the other side of town  
And comin' home I thought I'd stop and have a round  
And in this bar I heard someone speak your name  
And that's how I met a friend of yours today

I listened for a while and I could tell  
That that stranger there he knew you much too well  
And I introduced myself and you should have seen his face  
Oh what a shame I met a friend of yours today

Please don't cry woman cause it's much too late for tears  
Yeah, I'm sorry too cause it hurts after all these years  
And ain't it sad a love like ours should end this way  
And all because I met a friend of yours today


End file.
